USS ''Cushing'' (Torpedo Boat #1/TB-1) was a

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. She was named for William B. Cushing. ''Cushing'' was launched on 23 January 1890 by the

Herreshoff Manufacturing Company Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (March 18, 1848 – June 2, 1938) was an American naval architect, mechanical engineer, and yacht design innovator. He produced a succession of undefeated America's Cup defenders between 1893 and 1920. Biography Her ...

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...

; sponsored by Miss K. B. Herreshoff; and commissioned on 22 April 1890,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

C. M. Winslow in command.

Service history

The first torpedo boat built for the Navy, ''Cushing'' was attached to the

Squadron of Evolution The Squadron of Evolution—sometimes referred to as the "White Squadron" or the "ABCD ships" after the first four— was a transitional unit in the United States Navy during the late 19th century. It was probably inspired by the French "Escadre ...

and equipped for experimental work to complete the development of torpedo outfits and to gather data for the service. On 8 September 1891, she reported to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

for duty at the

Naval Torpedo Station The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...

, and except for a brief period out of commission—from 11 November 1891 – 11 January 1892—''Cushing'' continued her torpedo experiments in this area until 1893. ''Cushing'' arrived at

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

on 31 March 1893 for temporary duty with the Naval Review Fleet, and in April she escorted the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s and HMS Caravels to New York. ''Cushing'' returned to duty at Newport on 6 May, working with the

Whitehead torpedo The Whitehead torpedo was the first self-propelled or "locomotive" torpedo ever developed. It was perfected in 1866 by British engineer Robert Whitehead from a rough design conceived by Giovanni Luppis of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in Fiume. I ...

. Based on

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

from 31 December 1897, ''Cushing'' reported to the

North Atlantic Fleet The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European Squadron, European and South Atlantic Squadron, South Atlantic squadr ...

's Blockading Force for picket patrol in the

Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait () is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys (U.S.) ...

and courier duty for the Force. On 11 February 1898, while making a passage to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Joseph C. Breckinridge overboard in heavy seas. For their heroic efforts to save him, Gunner's Mate Third Class John Everetts and Ship's Cook First Class Daniel Atkins were awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. The destroyer was named after him in 1918. Upon the declaration of

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

between the U.S. and Spain, ''Cushing'' was assigned to patrol the

Cays A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

, and on 7 August captured four small vessels and towed them to her anchorage at Piedras Cay. Four days later, armed boats from ''Cushing'' and captured and burned a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

. Returning north in August 1898, ''Cushing'' resumed her operations at the Newport Torpedo Station from 14 September until decommissioned on 8 November 1898. From 1901 to 1911, she was attached to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at Norfolk, and was sunk on 24 September 1920 after use as a target.

Citations

References

* * * * ''The White Squadron''. oledo, Ohio Woolson Spice Co., 1891. * Simpson, Richard V. ''Building The Mosquito Fleet, The US Navy's First Torpedo Boats.'' Arcadia Publishing, Charleston South Carolina, USA, 2001. . * Silverstone, Paul. ''U.S. Warships of World War I'' Ian Allan, London, U.K., 1970. .

External links

*
USN Ships – USS ''Cushing'' (TB-1)

The USS ''Cushing'' Association

Torpedo boat, USS Cushing, experiments with torpedoes
These are 8 photographs showing the Cushing torpedo boat experiments. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cushing (Tb-1) Torpedo boats of the United States Navy Ships built in Bristol, Rhode Island 1890 ships Maritime incidents in 1920 Shipwrecks Ships sunk as targets